Portrait of Wage Rudolf Soepratman

Birthday profile

Wage Rudolf Soepratman

Indonesian composer and songwriter

Born
March 9, 1903
Died
August 17, 1938
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1903

About Wage Rudolf Soepratman

Wage Rudolf Supratman (Wage Soepratman in the old orthography, commonly known as W. R. Supratman; 9 March 1903 – 17 August 1938) was an Indonesian journalist and songwriter who wrote both the lyrics and melody of the national anthem of Indonesia, "Indonesia Raya". He is an Indonesian national hero. == Biography == W.R. Soepratman's father was Sergeant Djoemeno Senen Sastrosoehardjo, a KNIL soldier, and his mother was Siti Senen. Soepratman was born Wage on 9 March 1903 in Jatinegara, Jakarta. Several months later, his father added Soepratman to his name and explained that he was born in Meester Cornelis, Batavia. Soepratman was the seventh of nine children. His eldest sibling was Rukiyem Supratiyah van Eldik. At the age of 6, he entered Budi Utomo elementary school in Cimahi. After his father retired, Wage followed his sister Rukiyem to Makassar, where he began attending a Europeesche Lagere School (ELS) in 1914. It was then when Rudolf was added to his name, so that his rights would be equal to the Dutch.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Wage Rudolf Soepratman timeline

  1. In 1920, he and van Eldik founded a jazz-styled band, called Black & White.
  2. In 1929, the prominent Indonesian businessman and record executive Tio Tek Hong contacted Supratman; the two agreed to issue the first records of the anthem with Supratman retaining its copyright.

The world when Wage Rudolf Soepratman was born

Wage Rudolf Soepratman was born in 1903. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1903

  • Top movieThe Great Train Robbery (first narrative film)
  • Best-selling book"Lady Rose's Daughter" – Mrs. Humphry Ward

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst World Series — Boston vs Pittsburgh
  • Top headlineWright brothers achieve first powered flight
  • Technology milestoneFirst powered airplane flight (12 seconds, 120 feet)
  • World population~1.63B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderTheodore Roosevelt
  • U.S. population80.4M

1903 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Wage Rudolf Soepratman's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19032026
Population80.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.